Sugar too sweet for Pacman?

MANILA, Philippines - Sugar Shane Mosley is expected to battle Manny Pacquiao the same way he outfought Oscar de la Hoya in their two meetings in 2000 and 2003. That means Mosley will try to be at his sweetest in making it difficult for Pacquiao to tag him when they face off in a 12-round WBO welterweight title bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 7.

But at 39, can Mosley turn back the hands of time and stay clear of Pacquiao’s war zone? If Mosley plans to use his seven-inch reach advantage by striking from a distance, he’s got to be quick with his hands and feet. Mosley’s problem is he isn’t quite as fast as Pacquiao.

To be sure, Mosley’s speed was the telling factor in his wins over De la Hoya. “Mosley used the ring and moved back quite a bit as he slid side to side but he didn’t run,” wrote Ivan Goldman in KO Magazine. “He lay in wait like a cheetah. Mosley beat the Golden Boy at his own game, the game of speed.” Goldman said Mosley beat De la Hoya like Sugar Ray Robinson defeated Jake LaMotta in five of their six encounters from 1942 to 1951.

Over 20,000 fans packed the Staples Center to witness Mosley’s first victory over De la Hoya. Mosley did nearly everything to confound De la Hoya and even switched to southpaw briefly in the eighth round. He started strong and finished even stronger, outlanding De la Hoya by a 45-18 margin in the final round. Mosley won by a split decision but in the rematch, the verdict was unanimous.

It isn’t certain if Mosley got his nickname when he started fighting at eight years old because of his resemblance in style to Robinson or another legend Sugar Ray Leonard. But Mosley couldn’t care less which Sugar Ray he looked like. “I want to be remembered as one of the great Sugars,” he said. “You have Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard and now, Sugar Shane Mosley.”

In boxing history, a lot of fighters came to be known as “Sugar,” usually a moniker for those with a “sweet” style. The list includes Robinson, Leonard, former WBC superflyweight champion Sugar Baby Rojas of Colombia, former world featherweight titlist Ultiminio (Sugar) Ramos of Cuba, Aruba welterweight Sugar Boy Nando who fought in 114 bouts over 22 years up to 1970, 1972 Olympic lightwelterweight gold medalist Sugar Ray Seales of the Virgin Islands and English lightweight Sugar Free Somerville. Among Filipino fighters who used the nickname were Sugar Rey Mike who lost a 12-round decision to Hi Yong Choi in a WBA minimumweight title bout in 1991, former Philippine bantamweight champion Federico (Sugar) Bonus and superfeatherweight Sugar Cane Carreon.

Whether Mosley is the sweetest of them all is what he hopes to prove against Pacquiao.

Boxing analyst Larry Merchant said what makes Mosley difficult to beat is his ability to adjust during a fight – in other words, his intelligence. “Shane has a great intuitive feel of how to adjust to his opponent and it seems seamless because he has such a classic boxing style,” said Merchant. “He’s a really keen student of the game and can always put that into practice on the fly.”

Mosley is in the record books as the only fighter ever to beat De la Hoya twice. He started his career with 38 straight wins, 35 by KO. After capturing the IBF lightweight title in 1997, Mosley repulsed eight challengers in a row, all inside the distance. He went on to add the WBC welterweight and WBC lightmiddleweight belts to his collection.

Mosley has never been knocked out although he was floored twice by Vernon Forrest in losing a decision in 2002. Forrest used a vicious right uppercut to deck Mosley for the first time in his career. In a rematch six months later, Mosley did two things differently – he circled to his right, away from Forrest’s right hand, and tried to force the Viper to take the initiative instead of counterpunch. Forrest wasn’t bothered by the change in tactics and won another decision.